Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has shared progress and challenges around its EPR programme, with a planned go-live set for 19 October 2026.
The trust highlights additional capital and revenue pressures versus the EPR business case, when in November, the board said it had requested funding from NHSE’s Frontline Digitisation team. This update also stated that progress has been made on stabilising the EPR programme, with governance implemented, go-live planning and process mapping underway, leading to an overall rating of amber being attributed in the board assurance framework. “High-level plan options have been developed and presented to the board with a comprehensive plan including a recommendation associated with the number of test cycles to be considered by the board in due course,” it noted.
“A comprehensive programme plan has been signed off by the trust board in December 2025 with a go-live date agreed with Oracle Health and system partners for the 19 October 2026,” the board states.
Aside from EPR, the board shares progress around digital solutions, with the trust working on achieving the measures set out in its Cancer Recovery Plan. A 14-month pilot with Careology is highlighted, looking to modernise the acute oncology service by integrating a digital platform for patient self-management, to streamline clinical workflows, and reduce unnecessary face-to-face assessments. Outcomes shared included better patient experience, a reduction in unnecessary visits, and the freeing-up of chemotherapy resources, with remote symptom management offering clinicians visibility. The approach “delivered time and cost savings with potential for significant efficiencies if scaled across the trust and Cancer Alliance”, Airedale notes.
A collaboration with Bradford Teaching Hospitals has introduced a patient portal enabling the ability to send digital letters, and facilitate patient interactions with functionality such as appointment management, digital forms, and PIFU. According to the trust, this will integrate with existing systems, and is expected to go live in April 2026.
Wider trend: EPR and EPR optimisation
A HTN Now panel discussion explored EPR customisations for the frontline and how digital transformation can support the direction set in the 10 Year Health Plan. We discussed optimisation, challenges and key learnings from success stories shared by our experts. Panellists included Doctor Stephen Jones, principal clinical psychologist at Sheffield Children’s Hospital; David Wong, associate professor of health data science and health informatics at Leeds University; Mark Simpson, digital innovation leader at Leeds Community Healthcare; and Michael Odling-Smee, CEO at Aire Innovate.
A roadmap for delivery of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s latest strategy to 2030 has outlined a series of digital priorities across the next four years, covering post-go-live EPR optimisation, piloting AI, cloud migration, and a device and infrastructure refresh. Optimisation of the Epic EPR is “critical” to improving clinical workflows, data accessibility, and decision-making, the trust states. Work is ongoing to automate data flows from the Epic system to improve data completeness and quality, with a “significant opportunity” to harness health data in support of research and innovation.
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust is working towards a new EPR and a centralised EDMS, as well as focusing on digital for pathway redesign. Progress on the single EPR has been “far slower than expected”, according to NCA, with changes to NHS England digital funding routes and NCA deficit making it challenging to progress beyond the outline business case. “Work to identify capital funding continues in support of the programme and an updated OBC is due to be presented to the board during this financial year,” it updates. “The team are working with community colleagues to set out a clear strategy for a community EPR which remains a gap in our strategic plans.”
